Sarah vs the Bearded One
by William Ashbless
Summary: Based on a famous Texas Hold-em game from 1976. Just a quick little drabble because I'm very happy that Chuck is renewed!


Sarah gave a little purr of contentment as Chuck rubbed her shoulders briefly. It had been a long but enjoyable few hours playing poker with everybody. She was sitting pretty good, only her and one other left, roughly equal in chips. The rest of the group were fixing drinks, the good natured chatter a low hum in the background. She was actually a little surprised how the game had shaken out. She enjoyed poker and was good at it, as was Casey. She had assumed that her and Casey would be the last two standing, but shockingly enough, Morgan had cleaned him out fairly early. Devon and Chuck had fought hard, but their tells were pretty easy to spot, leaving her and Morgan as the final two.

Morgan cleared his throat and regretfully, Chuck stepped away. Ellie had volunteered to be the dealer for this, the final round. She passed the deck to Morgan, who cut and then the game began.

Big blind, ten dollars, to Morgan. Little blind, five dollars to her. First one card, then the second flew across to Sarah's position. She schooled her face into an emotionless mask and stared at Morgan, mentally sending her stronger personality towards him in an effort to intimidate him, but it was like speaking in Mandarin Chinese, he was so oblivious.

She pulled her cards up and towards her, noticing that the group had gathered back round the table. Chuck whispered something to Devon, who smothered a laugh.

She had an Ace of Hearts, Jack of Clubs. They didn't know she had played poker as a way to make extra money when she was at Harvard. Suckers. Ace Jack gave her a 68.6% chance of winning.

She looked at Morgan. Let's see if he's got big brass ones she thought. She raised while looking directly at Morgan. When his eyes met hers, the right side of her mouth, tilted just ever so slightly in a very small smirk.

Morgan pursed his lips, looked at his cards again, and then paused. Seconds dragged, each one an infinity. Sarah wondered if he was going to fold.

"Call" said Morgan.

Ellie dealt the flop. Ace of Clubs was the first card. Sarah now had a pair of Aces, with a Jack. The second card was turned, another Jack! Then finally a Ten.

Sarah kept her face calm but inside she was ecstatic! She had two pair, Aces and Jacks, 90% chance of winning! She took a small sip of her mojito as she waited for Morgan. Ah, the crisp bite of the mint leaves were just right. A perfect capper to a perfect evening of poker. She was sipping a mojito, in love with her boyfriend, sipping a mojito on a perfect summer evening and had a perfect hand. Nothing could ruin this moment!

"Your bet, Morgan." Ellie says.

"Uh-huh". Again the seconds seem like hours as Sarah waits for Morgan to decide what to do. He's so slow, so methodical, that's it's frustrating!

Morgan pushes all of his chips in towards the middle, and says, "All in"

"Buddy!" Sarah hears Chuck and rightly so! Again, she runs the probability. Very good odds, 90% chance of winning. She'd be a fool to fold now!

"Call" she declares confidently and pushes her chips in.

"Show cards, please" says Ellie. Sarah smugly flips her cards while Morgan does the same. All he has is a Ten and a Two! His hand with all five cards is a pair of Tens to her two pair of Aces and Jacks. She catches Chuck's eyes as he grins hugely at her.

Ellie deals the turn, the fourth community card. It's a Two, which gives Morgan two pairs also, Tens and Twos. But, as she runs the probabilities again, she's still 90% likely to win. Sarah's confidence is now showing on her face. It's all but over now. Another notch in her pistol belt. She wondered if she should start playing in some of the professional tournaments in Vegas next time her and Chuck go there. That would be fun. Definitely some better competition than what she had faced tonight. Yes, it's so nice to win.

Ellie's hands are precise in her movements as she gracefully places the fifth and final community card on the table.

The Ten of Spades. Sarah's stomach drops. His full house, three Tens and two Twos had beaten her!

"No hard feelings, right Sarah? It's just a game."

She smiled a hard little smile at him, no teeth. "Yeah, you're right, it's just a game. Another hand?"


End file.
